Resume aid to Taliban-run Afghanistan, Red Cross urges

Taliban fighters hold Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan flags on the first anniversary of the fall of Kabul on a street in Kabul, Afghanistan, August 15, 2022. REUTERS/Ali Khara

The Red Cross on Monday appealed to states and donors to set aside their political objections to the Taliban and resume aid flows to Afghanistan's state institutions to ease an "unbearable" humanitarian situation there.

The hardline Islamist Taliban marked a year in power on Monday with small scale celebrations as the country struggles with rising poverty, drought and malnutrition that has left over half its population of about 40 million dependent on humanitarian aid to survive. [L1N2ZR0B0]